Priest Radek Rakowski's parish initially planned to build a traditional church, before opting for a more modern chapel installed on the ground floor of a residential building, with large windows, a striking neon light, and a cozy coffee corner inside.

Parishioners who visit the chapel gain access via an app, also used to operate the lights and order a drink from the coffee machine. At the lectern, visitors push a button to put their questions to the AI guide.

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The move comes in response to a growing trend of clergy incorporating technology into Masses and confessions, prompting concerns about distractions and the sanctity of these rituals.

Bishop Arkadiusz Trochanowski, head of the Olsztyn-Gdańska Greek Catholic Church, highlighted the convenience of digital resources. However, he expressed reservations about their use during religious ceremonies.

"It has gone too far. Therefore, we decided that the matter must be regulated, each of the bishops of our Church issued such a decree" said Bishop Trochanowski.

Acknowledging the need for regulation, Bishop Trochanowski emphasised the importance of maintaining decorum and focus during services.

He expressed discomfort at the possibility of priests being distracted by phone notifications, stressing that technological interruptions should not compromise the solemnity of Mass.

The decree posted on the Internet said priests and deacons have a "category ban" on taking photos and videos during all services. Clergymen who want photos taken during the Mass should appoint a specific person.

"The idea is that no one accidentally takes photos that can computerally change and make available on the Internet" said the bishop.

The bishops also told priests not to take cell phones and similar devices into confessionals.

While there are no suspicions of misuse, the bishops underscore the need to uphold the confidentiality of confessions.

"But as the priest has a muted phone in the confessional and it is buzzing, it disturbs the intimacy of confession, it distracts" said the bishop

Bishop Trochanowski assured that despite restrictions on clergy, faithful members are permitted to use digital versions of prayers and songs during services.

However, the emphasis remains on preserving the reverence and sanctity of religious practices, focusing on the traditional use of liturgical books.

The measures aim to reinforce the distinction between the sacred and the secular, ensuring that the focus remains on prayer and worship without unnecessary distractions.

Sources

GOSC

Eparchia Olsztyńsko-Gdańska

Dziega was known for ignoring the victims of sexual abuse for years in his archdiocese. Still, in a letter explaining his resignation to priests of the archdiocese, he said the reason was health-oriented, a "radical weakening of my condition."

At age 71, he is four years younger than the age at which canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope.

He also apologised to the priests for his "weaknesses," not mentioning the victims of sexual abuse who were outraged when the letter went viral across social media in Poland over the Feb 24-25 weekend.

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The accusations on Polish TV channel TVN24 have sparked a national debate.

Some defend the late pontiff's legacy, while others demand justice for the victims and accountability for those who may have covered up the abuse.

The period scrutinised in the documentary is the 1960s and 1970s before Karol Wojtyla was elected pope in 1978.

John Paul II is viewed as a national hero in Poland because of his opposition to communism and strong influence on Polish politics and culture.

However, the scandal is being used by some to score political points.

Some in Poland have said that the allegations should lead to a reassessment of John Paul II's legacy.

Members of the opposition alliance, The Left, is calling for John Paul II to be 'cancelled,' removing his name from public spaces, including schools and kindergartens named after him.

However, Poland's conservative political alliance, the United Right, has seized the opportunity to divert attention from its problems.

The Law and Justice party (PiS), the largest party in the alliance, is under pressure due to rising prices and several corruption scandals.

The government's response was swift and strongly worded: Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the accusations "an attempt to trigger a culture war in Poland."

Culture Minister Piotr Glinski went so far as to say that "an attack on the pope is an attack on Poland".

The current archbishop of Krakow, Marek Jedraszewski, sang a similar tune, speaking of a "second assassination attempt on John Paul II" - a reference to a gunman who seriously injured John Paul II in the Vatican in May 1981.

"Wojtyla was a child of his era"

Yet the dispute about the accusations against John Paul II transcends the usual left-right political divide.

An icon of Poland's liberal opposition, Adam Michnik, the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, has called on people not to reduce the pope to the clerical sex abuse scandal.

"Wojtyla was a child of his era. What is a matter of course for us today was not a matter of course 40 years ago," said Michnik.

Pope Francis has called for understanding.

"You have to put things in the context of the era. [...] At that time everything was covered up. […] It was only when the Boston scandal broke that the church began to look at the problem," said the pope in a recent interview with the Argentine newspaper La Nacion.

The Polish Bishops' Conference responded to the documentary by stating that further archival research was necessary to evaluate Karol Wojtyla's decisions and actions.

Furthermore, they announced the formation of an independent team to investigate cases of sexual abuse by clerics in all dioceses and religious orders in Poland.

Sources

Deutsche Welle (DW)

The Irish Times

CathNews New Zealand

The IT system used by parishioners in the city's Łacina district has been hailed by its developers as the future of the church at a time when the number of people practising their faith is falling in Poland, a country where the majority of the population identify as Catholics.

Among services available via the parish's website, believers can, at any time of day or night, also order a Mass to be conducted for a personal intention or register a child for their first Holy Communion.

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The report summarises the results of consultations with both the leadership and the rank and file of the Polish church.

"It not a report about the state of the church," Archbishop Adrian Galbas (pictured), coordinator of the synodal process in Poland, told Crux, referring to the results of widespread consultations published on Thursday.

"It's a very personal document, giving an image of the church," Galbas said.

In the Archdiocese of Katowice, the faithful wrote that the church, rocked by sex abuse cases, not only "scandalises and hurts her people, it is a church that is hopeless, shocked with changes, and one that is frustrating the faithful".

Participants in the Archdiocese of Gdańsk commented: "The church is characterised by anonymity, and treats the faithful as a collective of parishioners - it lacks an individual approach to people."

"Yes, it is a difficult read," Galbas said, but he nonetheless found a silver lining.

"What is very hopeful for me is that the people who took part in the synodal path in Poland are those who are very deeply rooted in the church, they are insiders who care about the church," he said.

The clergy/laity divide is nowhere more clear than in the Polish youth statistics.

According to the latest polls by the CBOS institute, 84 percent of Poles say they are Catholic and 42 percent say they are practising.

However, among 18-24-year-olds, only 23 percent say they are practising. This is compared to 69 percent in 1992.

Theologian and anthropologist Stanislaw Obirek says the Church has lost relevance for young people because of a refusal to move with the times.

"The Polish Church played a crucial role in the liberation from the Communist regime in the 1980s," said Obirek from the University of Warsaw.

"It retains a superior attitude and a frozen hierarchy that rejects modernisation," he said.

"Poles who have grown up in an open society no longer recognise themselves in it."

Young people are increasingly turning away from an institution often perceived as being in crisis, damaged by revelations of sexual abuse and accusations of interlinkage with political authorities.

"I would like the priests to read the synthesis carefully," Galbas told Crux.

"What we forget" he said, "is that the church is a missionary church. We dive into the contemporary daily spinning of the news, and we forget about the fundamental mission of the church - to share Christ with each other."

The national coordinator of the synod said the church doesn't have to wait until the synod is over to do something about the results of the diocesan synthesis.

"The time to act is now; we can start right away," he said.

Sources

CruxNow

RFI

CathNews NZ

With Poland in the middle of a huge refugee crisis, Bishop Krzysztof Zadarko is asking "where's the support?"

Millions of Ukrainian refugees have been pouring across Poland's border since the 24 February Russian invasion.

There's been no support at all from the EU and other member countries, Zadarko says.

Zadarko, who chairs the Polish bishops' council for migration, tourism and pilgrimages, says systemic and long-term help is needed.

Just why this should be is a mystery to him.

He also sees an urgent need for Poland to get organised to deal with what is becoming an established problem.

"It is necessary to create a systemic, long-term and structural aid secured legally and financially — a programme based on a coherent migration policy," he says.

Some facts

• Since 24 February, over six million people have fled Ukraine. Thousands arrive each day.
• Over three million refugees have sought sanctuary in Poland, which has 38 million citizens.
• This is Europe's biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.
• Poland has been a member of the EU since 2004. The EU includes 27 member states.

Aid from the Catholic Church

"The scale of humanitarian aid provided by the Catholic Church in Poland is enormous" says Zadarko.

"There is no parish that would not join in the aid — whether by accepting refugees or organising collections of money and in-kind donations.

"As the Church, we strive to understand and fulfil the words of Jesus: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.'"

He went on: "The whole society is involved in helping. We all feel the same desire to help the poor and the needy."

International aid volunteers

"It is important to note the very large participation of volunteers from all over the world, especially at the reception point," says Zadarko.

Everyone has become a volunteer in Poland since February, he says. At the same time he is concerned Poland still lacks a professionally organised volunteer network.

It's almost three months after the outbreak of war, after all.

"Spontaneous help, which has become today a formula, even a brand of our form of assistance, is good for a short time," he says.

"We can appeal for solidarity and perseverance in this help which is very much needed today, because the natural condition of society is weakening and exhausting, it encounters the obstacle of burnout and fatigue."

What's needed though is long-term support for Ukrainian refugees living in Poland, he stresses.

"We will continue to appeal not to forget about those who are already among us today, but also about the thousands of people who reach us every day from Ukraine."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: The Times of Israel

The UN refugee agency says by March 14, almost 1.8 million people had entered Poland from Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24.

The Council of Major Superiors of Congregations of Women Religious (the Major Superiors) in Poland says as at March 14, sisters in 924 Polish Catholic convents and 98 in Ukraine were offering "spiritual, psychological, medical, and material help."

All of the nearly 150 religious congregations operating in Poland and Ukraine have responded.

Some are helping a few people, while others have offered assistance to as many as 18,000.

The sisters' work includes almost everything - from transporting people from areas affected by war to providing mother and baby classes.

One of their bigger tasks involves organising housing for the refugees.

To date, the Major Superiors say 498 convents in Poland and 76 in Ukraine have organised housing. About 3,060 children, 2,420 families and 2,950 adults have received shelter so far. In addition, 64 Catholic institutions offer 600 places for orphans.

Besides these, there are 420 institutions with places for around 3,000 mothers with children.

Elderly and disabled people are also among those who have found shelter in institutions run by sisters.

The Major Superiors say the religious sisters have also been helping prepare and distribute hot meals, food, sanitary products, clothing and blankets.

They have also been helping the newcomers find work in Poland, creating additional jobs in their centres, coordinating assistance to refugees at aid headquarters, helping Ukrainian children enrol in Polish schools and serving as Ukrainian language translators.

Other assistance religious communities are providing includes constantly collecting food and hygiene products to be sent to Ukraine, given directly to refugees in Poland or to houses run by congregations.

The congregations also make financial donations and transmit funds through their foundations.

Poland, a country of 38 million people that borders both Russia and Ukraine, was already home to an estimated two million Ukrainian workers before the war began.

Source

• CNA
• Image: Vatican News